for the customer. To do this, Magstadt puts herself in the shoes of the homeowner before every closing. She reminds herself of the feelings of anxiety, nervousness and fear that comes with buying or refinancing a home. Changes in technology is the biggest change that they have seen over the years. One of their adaptations to these changes is a phone app, called TRNagent 3.0. One of their biggest challenges is getting the information they need to satisfy the title requirements, often waiting on people to provide the information needed. Waiting on closing docs at the end of the process is another challenge. They struggle with the delay from online lenders, stating that the process goes more smoothly when the client uses a local lender. Every closing is a new experience as they become accustomed to the various documents used by different lenders. Using one word to describe themselves, Wysuph uses “reliable” and Magstadt, “conscientious.” “You’re going to have a positive, pleasant experience,” Sara smiles, explaining their top priority of customer service. “We’re here for the customer. Whatever we need to do, we’re flexible to their schedule.” Their Yankton office is located at 341 Walnut Street and phone number is 689-2800. You can visit them on their website at www. titleresourcenetwork.com. Yankton Title Company Yankton Title Company has been in existence for over 100 years, starting out as a family operation. Now Stuart Title Guarantee, their underwriter, is the primary owner of the company. With more than 45 years of experience combined among their staff, they have two licensed and bonded abstractors in the state of SD, Nancy Hall and Tami Guenther. They had to pass a rigorous test to obtain this licensing, which is a requirement to sign off on title commitments. Nancy Hall is the division president of Yankton Title Company and has been with them for 21 years. She searches and exams all the orders that come into the office and manages the office and the employees. She performs loan closings, oversees the financial bookkeeping and escrow accounts along with reviewing all title policies before they are sent out. When Hall started at the company, Bob Stewart, the owner at that time, taught and mentored her for the first five years before he retired and she took over the business. She explains she’s always discovering something new. “In the job or the position of the examiner, or they call us abstractors, you learn L to R: Coreen Simonsen, Tami Guenther, Amantha Boese-Pieper and Nancy Hall something every day. You will always run into a situation that you’ve never seen before.” Because of the annual increases in and changes to the industry’s rules and regulations, they’ve encountered the need to add additional staff over the years and now have five people on staff. Their most recent hire is Brenda Fahrenholz, hired to temporarily assist during their busiest season. I talked with Hall, Guenther and the other full-time employees, Coreen Simonsen and Amantha Boese-Pieper about their roles. Hall explains the one item that stands out to her over her tenure. When the rest of the country saw the foreclosures and housing market challenges, that scenario didn’t happen in SD and it was rare for their business to work with a foreclosure. She’s noticed a more consumer educated trend over the years. She explains that regulations have been brought about to help protect the buyer and keep them more informed throughout the process, even though it’s lengthier in preparation time. Because South Dakota has a title plant law, the title companies are required to retain an exact copy of what they find at the county Register of Deeds. This is called their title plant. South Dakota, unlike other states, can only search and exam properties in the county where their title plant is located. vTITLE COMPANIES continued on page 11 Did You Know... Dr. Kynan Trail treats benign and malignant diseases of the breast When it comes to your surgery... you do have a choice! NO REFERRAL NECESSARY Independently Owned 2525 Fox Run Parkway, Suite 204, Yankton • www.yanktonsurgical.com Call Yankton Surgical Associates, PC today for a consultation. 605-668-9670 HERVOICEvNOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017v7